Hello everyone!As spring approaches, which cant come soon enough for my indoor tropicals, the warmer days have me wondering a few things....1st what temps are needed for me to move the tropicals outside....and also I have several that need the combo of root work and major crown/foliage reduction work that I felt would be better to wait till spring due to the early cool temps here last fall. So my question is which should I do first crown work or root work.I hope my terminology is correct?? Thanks!Bryan in Va.

_________________Jim Lewis - lewisjk@windstream.net - Western NC - People, when Columbus discovered this country, it was plumb full of nuts and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just about all gone. Uncle Dave Macon, old-time country musician

Be advised, tropicals is too broad a term. Many trees that people term tropicals are really subtropicals and benefit from cool temperatures. The gamut ranges from Serissa, which will take down to almost freezing and are very flexible in their schedule, to Florida buttonwood, which is a true tropical (although some people winter them on the cool side & they drop their leaves) and can only be repotted in the North in late June-early July. Learn more about the native habitat of the various species. For convenience, I put my tropicals out in the spring when the night temperature gets into the forties F. In the fall, I bring them in on the same basis, but the subtropicals, such as Serissa, pomegranate, and acacias, stay out until frost warning. Some require a cool rest above freezing before they go under the fluorescent lights (or into the greenhouse).Iris

Unless you have some odd species, you can work on Ficus, Sheffelara, and the like most of the year.

_________________Jim Lewis - lewisjk@windstream.net - Western NC - People, when Columbus discovered this country, it was plumb full of nuts and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just about all gone. Uncle Dave Macon, old-time country musician